A Twist Of Fate
by Millennion
Summary: Narutos had enough he's leaving to gain true power.watch out konoha.narutoharem
1. a Change

Naruto Uzumaki was having a bad day. Well, 'No worse than normal,' he thought as he dodged the rocks and bottles being thrown at him by the small mob of villagers. At age seven, he was small for his age, and his orange jumpsuit gave him the appearance of being a blonde fool. But, appearances can be deceiving, and the orange clad youngster was no exception.

The boy was extremely intelligent, bordering on genius, and he knew that deception was essential to his survival . He didn't quite know why the villagers hated him, although he suspected it had something to do with the cries of 'demon' that the villagers screamed at him at every opportunity.

Regardless of why they hated him, the boy knew that drawing any extra attention to himself, as being more than an orange clad troublemaker who was no threat, would not help his life expectancy. He laughed, silently, as he made his way into the forest, hiding behind a tree and losing the drunken mob as it ran into the opposite direction.

He was about to sigh in relief, when he heard the sound of someone crying. Wary, but curious, he peered behind the tree to see a small girl with white eyes, crying. Hating the sight of tears, Naruto shied away from his tree and moved over to the girl, who leapt up with a startled gasp. "What's your name?" Naruto asked. "H-hinata Hyuuga," she said. The girl, her voice shaking, asked "Who are you?' "Naruto Uzumaki," he answered. "Who gave you those bruises?" he asked, as he looked her over, noticing the bruises nearly hidden by the jacket she wore. "My father," she answered. Naruto, seeing the ashamed look on her face, averted his eyes and smiled at her. "Would you like to be friends?"

That's how it started. From that day on, Hinata and Naruto were inseparable. They did nearly everything together, from eating to training. Hinata, being a Hyuuga, had started training in her family's style at age five. Although Naruto could not learn the Hyuuga fighting style, he could, and did learn, the extensive chakra control exercises that were required for the gentle fist style. He and Hinata sparred together every day. Naruto's healing ability allowed him to keep fighting, even when hit by Hinata's strikes, which helped her refine her techniques without worrying about permanent damage.

Naruto, on the other hand, begged the hokage for some jutsus. After much pleading, the hokage gave him a scroll containing the three academy jutsus as well as a set of training weights and another scroll, a powerful taijutsu style. Naruto trained hard and learned the academy jutsus. When he found that he was unable to use the basic bushin jutsu, he had the hokage teach him kage bushin. When Naruto was eight, he and Hinata, whom had long outgrown her confidence problems, were sparring when she suprised him with a blow to the head. It was then that he met the kyubbi, whom, impressed with the boy's work ethic, agreed to help him by supplying his chakra when needed and allowing him to sign a summoning contract with the foxes.

When Naruto awoke and recovered from his shock, he quickly told Hinata. She now understood why his chakra control was so bad. He and Hinata began doing the tree walking and water walking chakra control exercises, with increased chakra control. Naruto learned how to summon the summoning jutsu from the hokage, whom also taught Hinata, letting her sign the lion contract.

It was then that the two kids told the hokage their plan to leave the village once they were strong enough. The old man, saddened by this, explained to Naruto that his father was the fourth, and that his father meant for him to be the hero of the village. Naruto still refused to stay, so sarutobi agreed.

After learning of their plan, Sarutobi intensified their training, doubling their weights and doubling their training time. After a few weeks, Naruto and Hinata learned the sunshine no jutsu. Naruto also began to practice the kaze-no-yaiba technique, while Hinata focused on learning medical jutsu and genjutsu. Her training with Naruto improved her jyuuken techniques so much that she began learning the kaiten and eight trigrams techniques.

While Naruto began memorizing where pressure points were, he began practicing his taijutsu, which was similar to the jyuuken, except it closed off pressure points. A master of the style could put his chakra directly into his opponent's muscles, causing them to shut down. There were three stages, and Naruto was working on the second.

After a month on this newly intensified program, Sarutobi led them to training ground forty-four. "This is the forest of death," said the third, gazing at his students. "This training ground is normally reserved for people of chunnin rank or higher .ferocious beasts. Deadly traps are located everywhere in this forest. You will be here for one month, so consider it survival training. Naruto, use this area to practice summoning the foxes chakra. And now is the time to practice summoning."

The old man smiled and turned to leave. "Oh, by the way, Naruto, using the kyuubis chakra will overwhelm your chakra points at first, since your body is not used to channeling demonic chakraso. The more you use it, the better." Finally, Sarutobi left. Naruto looked to Hinata and smiled. "Let's find a camp."

Naruto and Hinata searched and searched, and finally, after two attacks by tigers and giant bears and nearly getting skewered by several kunai traps, they finally found a cave. Hinata, who did not have Naruto's stamina, was asleep in seconds, so Naruto took first watch, making a dozen kage bunshins; some for sentries, the rest to scout the forest.

A few hours later, Hinata awoke. Naruto dispelled his clones and was startled to see knowledge of the forest enter his mind. He groaned, as exaustion made him pass out. When he awoke, he was so excited he grabbed Hinata and kissed her, causing the girl to nearly faint. 'N-naruto-kun," studdered the girl, her cheeks still red. "What's going on?" "Hinata, I think I found out something cool, but I need to test it first," he said. He made several dozen shadow clones, dividing them into three groups. He sent group one to practice the chakra control exercises, kunai balancing, and chakra gathering, which was maintaining a large amount of chakra for extended periods. This not only helped control, but also strengthened the chakra coils and his body. He sent group two to practice taijutsu. Group three worked on mastering the jutsus he knew. While his clones were away, Naruto and Hinata sparred. Then he practiced summoning the kyuubis chakra, his features changing as his teeth grew into fangs and his hands grew claws. He maintained the chakra for only a few seconds before he nearly passed out from exhaustion. He was saved by Hinata, who gave him a soldier pill and healed the injuries the foxes chakra caused to his body. When he regained his strength, he and Hinata spent the next few hours practicing. They each managed to summon a mid-level lion and fox.

To practice their stealth techniques, they hunted and fished. Naruto finally dispelled his clones and gasped as knowledge entered his mind. He grinned. "It worked, Hinata. Whatever my clones do, as long as I dispel them, I get the results."Hinata smiled. Over the next four weeks, Naruto and Hinata trained hard, with Naruto teaching Hinata the shadow clone jutsu,.then using Naruto's trick to have her clones practice her jyuuken techniques. She practiced her medical jutsu on Naruto, whose training with the kyuubis chakra often left him hurt and exhausted. She practiced her chakra control so much that she learned the chakra strings and chakra scalpel attacks, while beginning to work on creating long range jyuuken attacks.

Naruto, frustrated by the poor durability of his clones, began reinforcing them with chakra, which allowed for better taijutsu practice for him and Hinata, whom after constant attacks by multiple enemies, improved her byakugan's range to to over five hundred yards. Naruto, seeing Hinata's kaiten technique, began working with the kyubbi on creating an absolute defense similar to it. He created a technique, using the foxes chakra, called kitsune bi fox-fire. They practiced their jutsus so much that they didn't need handseals for the academy and kage bunshin jutsus.

Over the next year, Naruto mastered four more jutsu kage bushin daibakuha , kage shuriken jutsu kaze- no-yaiba, and his one original technique, kitsune bi. He and Hinata returned to the forest many times to refine their techniques. Hinata, on the other hand, mastered several medical jutsu and the chakra scalpel technique.

Now, at age nine, the two decided it was time they went to see the third. Saying good bye, he handed Naruto a scroll, saying it was his, by rights. Together, they sped out of the village.


	2. destination

Naruto and Hinata sped through the forest at full speed to make it to the border. They were hoping to make it there before the Hunter-Nin, came after them. 

_-Flashback-_

_"Naruto! Hinata!" Sarutobi called. "Yes, sensei!"chorused the two, settling down beside him. "You know that your leaving the village will cause the council to send the Hunter-Nin, to chase you." "Why, sensei?" asked Hinata. "Neither of us are ninja. We haven't even entered the academyso. We can't be labeled Missing-Nin."_

_"True, Ninata," Naruto told the Hyuuga girl, "but remember, you're the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, and I'm the vessel of the Kyuubi. They will undoubtedly kill me and return you to the village, because they can't afford to let the Byakugan out of their control."_

_"Correct, Naruto," said the hokage. When you leave, I will be forced to notify the council. While you and Hinata are extremely powerful for your age, and with your abilities you could probably face a Jounin together, but the Hunter-Nin are on a different level; and, they outnumber you.'_

_"We'll be careful, sensei," said the Hyuuga heiress, as she and Naruto bowed. Giving one last glance at the man they admired, they disappeared._

_-End Flashback-_

After two hours of running, the duo finally reached the border as it was nearing night. They decided to rest, camping out in a cave a little past the borderline between Konoha and Iwa. "Where are we heading, Naruto?" asked Hinata as she and Naruto prepared a fire. "We'll head to Iwa," he said. "Why Iwa?" asked the girl, her eyes drooping. "Because it's furthest from Konoha," he said, "and I want to learn some doton jutsu. Besides, we can't go to Suna because of the treay with Konoha. They'll just send us back to the village." Naruto glanced at Hinata as he finished, only to find her lightly snoring with her head on his shoulder. Smiling, he stared into the fire, keeping watch till the morning. At dawn, they abandoned camp, and moved on. 

-3 days later- 

Naruto and Hinata were nearing Iwa when they heard a scream. Quickly, they silenced their footsteps and crept toward the sound. As they reached the edge of the forest, Naruto's nose twitched and his eyes turned red as he saw the scene. Five men were brutally beating a young girl. The girl was small,with blue hair, and was probably no older than they were. She was curled in a fetal position, crying and screaming as the men repeatedly hit and stabbed her with kunai. Growling, Naruto made ten shadow clones and attacked, catching the men by surprise and slitting one man's throat. He twisted, catching another in the eye with his own kunai, as his shadow clones moved the girl out of danger. The remaining men shifted into fighting stances, but were unprepared for Hinata to attack from behind. Byakugan activated her strike, hitting one man in the heart. As the man fell dead, she jumped back into the trees. ; Having recovered from their surprise, the remaining ninja attacked. They moved quickly, with chunnin level speed, but still moved too slowly for Naruto as he gathered demonic chakra into his hand, incinerating them both with his fox fire. Their enemies dead, they turned to the girl. Her clothes were ripped, and small burns covered her body. There were large gashes in her arms and legs from the kunai. Blood covered her face and tear marks streaked from her eyes. It appeared that during the struggle, the girl had fallen unconscious . 

"Hinata, can you heal her?" asked Naruto, gathering the girl into his arms. 'No!" said the girl who was running through every medical jutsu she knew. 'I don't have near the level of skill or chakra for this kind of healing. "we'll have to take her to Iwa." 

"But Iwa's still two days away, and I don't think she'll make it," said Naruto, glancing at the body in his arms. 

"Perhaps, I can be of assistance." 

-authors note- 

the power levels in my story we'll be kind of general. 

this is mainly because in both the manga and show the power levels are all over the place. 

naruto is probably chunnin level when he beats Gaara and Haku 

both who are said to kill the strongest jounin level ninja which is inconsistant. 

i believe it was just their type of abilties that allowed them to defeat jounin level shinobi's not their level of skill. 

so gaara could probably defeat Anko and Hayate but not kakashi because kakashi has an attack that can break his defence and most other ninja don't.thery have more skill but gaara has more power 

because they can't penetrate his defences.so in that same way naruto with his abundance of chakra might be able to beat an anbu member simply because of his overwhelming stamina. 

so in my fic chunnin level is just the amount of skill they have,and right now thats where naruto and hinata are. 

'till next time kagomefetish' 


	3. A new friend

He was tall with gray hair; and although he had muscles, his slender build, to an untrained eye, might be considered frail. But any decently trained ninja could see the hidden strength in his body. He moved with a wraithlike grace as he quietly watched the sight before him. He smirked when Hinata killed her foe, and nodded, impressed, when he saw Naruto's jutsu.

'_Interesting,' he thought, as he saw Hinata's eye_s. '_A hyuuga and one from the main branch,' he concluded, seeing Hinata's sealess forehead; 'and from the boy's question, she must be a training medic-nin.'_ Noticing their plight, he silently jumped down. "Perhaps I can be of assistance," he said.

Naruto jumped when he heard the voice, and turned, shuriken in hand as he launched it towards the man. He was surprised at the speed in which the man plucked the weapon out of the air. '_Hmm,' Naruto thought._ '_He looks frail, but his aura is equal to sensei's.'_ '_We're outmatched,' he decided, lowering his stance._

"How?" he asked.

Hinata, noticing Naruto relaxing, lowered her stance and deactivated her byakugan.

"An hour's run from here is a river, and beside that river, is my home. If you take her there, I will heal her," said the man. He used sunshn no jutsu to leave.

Glancing at Hinata, and realizing he had no choice, he nodded and gathered up the injured girl as they took off after the man, who moved quickly through the forest at speeds that caused Naruto and Hinata to lag behind. '_Who is this guy?' they thought, as they increased their speed. _

When they reached the river, they stopped, and Naruto gently placed the injured girl against a rock as he looked around. "Where's this house of yours?" he asked. "It's here, under a Genjutsu. Just cancel it, and the house will appear. Glancing at each other, the two young shinobi nodded and said "**KAI**"(Release).

When the house appeared, Naruto picked up the injured girl and carried her inside, placing her on a bed that the old man had brought out. When she was comfortable, they watched as the man formed several handseals. A blue light covered the girl, her bruises and gashes healing, leaving only a few light scars on her arms.

"There, she'll be fine. She just needs rest." Seeing, they understood. The man turned to leave as Hinata stopped him. "What's your name?"asked the former heiress. "My name is Hinata Hyuuga, and he is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hinata,eh,"said the man. "Well, my name's Hiko." "Well, Hiko," said Naruto, "you have our thanks." Smiling, the man nodded, and left. Naruto watched him go, then settled down to wait for the girl to awaken.

Her eyes opened, and as her head finally cleared, she stiffened. Her eyes widened, and as she remembered the men, she curled up into a ball. Noticing the lack of pain the motion caused, she sat up and glanced around the room, her eyes falling on a blonde haired boy who was lightly snoring at her bedside.

The girl giggled softly, as a particularly loud snore sent Naruto on his back . She sat up and smiled, her sapphire eyes checking her surroundings. Seeing nothing of interest, her gaze returned to the boy. '_He's cute,' she thought, as she stared at the boy's whiskered face._

As she was about to continue her examination, she nearly jumped, as the door slid open and a girl with white eyes and lavender hair stepped in. The girl glanced at the boy, grinned, then sat down beside her. "Hi. My name's Hinata, and his is Naruto. He and I rescued you from those men."

At this, the girl's face darkened before she smiled and said, "My name is Mizuki. Nice to meet you." Naruto, whom had awakened at Hinata's entrance, laid there examining the girl he now knew was called Mizuki. She had long blue hair that reached to her waist, and pretty blue eyes. As he began to sit up, he smirked to himself. '_She's pretty,' he thought._

Deciding to make the girl smile, he jumped up and screamed, "How are you feeling, Mizuki-chan?" The girl was so stunned at the boy's sudden enthusiasm, that it took a few seconds before she answered. She smirked and hugged him, saying, "I'm fine, and thank you for saving me, Naruto-kun." She and Hinata then giggled, as Naruto turned red and began to studder, "Y-you're welcome, Mizuki-chan." This sent the two girls into hysterical laughter.

"Where are we, Naruto-kun?" asked Mizuki.

"Oh, we're at Hiko's house."

"Hiko?"

"He's the one who healed you, after we defeated those guys." "Now that I think about it," he continued, 'why were those guys attacking you? It seems strange for five ninja to attack one little girl.'

Mizuki blanched, and turned away as tears began to leak from her eyes. "If you don't want to tell us, you don't have to," said Hinata, moving to comfort the girl.

'No, it's all right," said Mizuki, wiping her eyes "Those guys were rock shinobi. They were attacking me b-because, because..." Here, she trailed off.

"Because why, Mizuki-chan?" pressed Naruto.

"Because I'm a monster!" she screamed, tears now falling freely. "I have a wolf demon inside me." Hysterical now, she clutched her arms together as she sobbed. "You hate me now, don't you?"

Naruto stared at the girl, who reminded him so much of himself, and smiled. Moving closer, he gently whispered, "No,we don't hate you, Mizuki-chan. "In fact, I too have a demon inside me, the kyuubi. So no, I don't hate you, and neither does Hinata."

Mizuki looked to Hinata, and seeing the confirmation in her eyes, she gave a hesitant smile as she asked, 'Can I stay with you and Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun?" Seeing his nod, she launched herself into his arms, tears of happiness beginning to fall. She cried for several minutes before her tears put her to sleep. Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other before grinning. Their small family had just gained another member.

-author's note-

My thanks to everyone who reviewed.

until next time, kagomefetish


	4. training

"What are your goals, Naruto?" asked Hiko. "What do you want to do with your life?"

It was the morning after Mizuki fell asleep in Naruto's arms, and he and Naruto were eating an early breakfast while the girls were asleep. Naruto began to answer before he thought, then considered. _He'd never really thought about it. In his entire life, his only goal had been leaving the village. After meeting Hinata, his goal only changed to take her with him. He'd never really thought about what he'd do after he left. This led him to thinking, what did he want to do? He had no desire to ever return to Konoha, or to even join another village. He'd had enough of villages. As he pondered the question, his thoughts turned to Mizuki and her treatment by those rock ninja. He realized that this was probably true for every demon container - the hatred and mistreatment. At this, his thoughts turned to remembrance of his own childhood, and the abuse heaped on him by the villagers, and the terrible loneliness he felt until he met Hinata._

He reached his decision. "I want to rescue other people like me from the loneliness and hatred heaped on them because of something they had no control over," said Naruto, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Hmm, so you want to help other Jinchuuriki, then, vessel of the Kyuubi."

At Hiko's words, Naruto gasped in shock, then jumped up. "How do you know that?" he growled.

"Calm down, Naruto. I'll explain. I myself contain a demon, the Suzaku, the Seven Tailed Phoenix. One of the abilities I've received is the power to sense other containers." Seeing Naruto calm down, he continued. "Now, Naruto, your goal to help your fellow containers has some big complications involved, mainly because there is an organization called the Akatsuki, that seeks to find the Jinchuriki and extract their demons from them. Alas, most of the seals used to seal demons are shoddy at best. So when the demon power awakens, it slowly kills the container. Fortunately for you, your seal works perfectly."

"How do you know so much about my seal?" asked Naruto.

"Because, if your seal was failing, you could never have controlled enough demonic chakra to do that technique of yours," said Hiko. "Naruto, if you truly wish to help your fellow containers, you will need to grow a lot stronger."

"Why?" asked Naruto.

"Because the Akatsuki is a group of S-class Shinobi, all of them stronger than Kage Level and they will be hunting you."

"Stronger than Kage Level?" asked Naruto. "Does that mean they're stronger than Sarutobi-Sensei?'

"In his prime, no. Sarutobi was once one of the strongest ninjas of all time, surpassed only by the Fourth Hokage. He could have easily taken on one or even two Akatsuki members and won, but now he doesn't stand a chance. He's too old; his power has diminished. I doubt he could handle even the weakest Akatsuki member now," said Hiko.

"So how will I get strong enough to defeat them?" asked Naruto, his eyes determined.

"That's where I can help you," said Hiko. "I propose that you and your friends train here with me."

Naruto eyed him for a moment before smiling. "When do we start?"

Hiko smirked. "Now," he said, heading outside. "Shall we begin?" asked Hiko.

Naruto settled into his stance and attacked. "**Kage bunshin no jutsu!"** he yelled, making a dozen clones and sending them to attack the gray haired man. Hiko didn't even flinch, as he easily punched the incoming clones with one hand, never moving from his starting position. _"Damn,' Naruto thought, "he's really strong." _Gathering more chakra, he made fifty more shadow clones and infused them with chakra to make them more durable. Sending this to attack, he leapt into a tree. "_Okay," he thought, "I need a plan. This guy's just as strong as Sensei, so a frontal assault wouldn't work. So, I need a trap. Hmm, I got it." _With an evil smile, Naruto headed deeper into the forest.

Hiko smiled, as he engaged another group of shadow clones. _"Impressive," he thought, "to be able to make chakra-enhanced shadow clones at his age." _Seeing he was surrounded, he grinned, and gathered chakra in two fingers. "**Chakra muchi kirikirimai!" (chakra whip whirl), **twirling around as a thin whip of chakra twirled with him, cutting all of the surrounding clones in half. _"This is getting interesting," he thought, following Naruto's trail through the forest. _

Naruto smirked as he saw Hiko enter the forest. "**Shuriken kage bunshin no jutsu!" **he said, throwing a shuriken that mutiplied into fifty before hitting Hiko, who turned into a log. "Damn, **kawarimi,**"he thought. He then dodged, as Hiko attacked him from behind. Forming more clones, he intensified his attacks, as he tried to hit Hiko's pressure points.. Hiko dodged every strike, and punched Naruto in the stomach, smiling when he heard the tell tale poof of a shadow clone. Seeing he was surrounded again, he began gathering chakra for another **kirikiriamai **jutsu.

Naruto smirked, and activated his jutsu '**bunshin bakuha'(shadow clone explosion).** Hiko blanched, as the surrounding clones exploded. Seeing his chance, Naruto began forming seals "**Kaze no yaiba!" (wind blade). **He smirked, as the blade of wind sliced Hiko in half, then grimaced as Hiko poofed, and he felt a blade at his throat.

"Impressive, Naruto," said Hiko. "You were able to defeat my shadow clone."

"That was a shadow clone?"

"Yes, an enhanced shadow clone, similar to the one you were using, only mine was made using demonic chakra, so it was stronger than yours. Although, I must say, I'm impressed that someone your age was able to make an enhanced shadow clone, as well as being able to make the exploding shadow clone jutsu, as it is an A-rank jutsu that even most Jounins have trouble using, An impressive feat, even for one such as you." Lowering his blade, Hiko led the way back to the house.

"Naruto, wake up Hinata and Mizuki, and meet me in the library," said Hiko. Naruto nodded, and left. When he returned with the girls, Hiko handed each of them a slip of paper. "Focus some chakra into these," he ordered. Nodding, they obeyed. Naruto's split in two, and the piece crumpled, then got wet. Hinata's threw off sparks, and Mizuki's crumpled. "Well, that's interesting," said Hiko. "Hinata, you have a lighting affinity, and Mizuki has an earth affinity. Naruto has a wind, earth, and water affinity."

"How do I have three affinities?" asked Naruto.

"Because of the Kyuubi. The kyuubi's elements were earth and water, so as it's container, you inherit some of it's abilities. This is common with containers," said Hiko.

"Then why doesn't Mizuki have two affinities?" asked Hinata. "She's a container."

"True, but only Kyuubi had more than one element, and Mizuki's natural affinity is earth.

"So, does this mean I can only use doton style jutsu?"asked Mizuki.

"Of course not. Having an affinity only means you have the ability to master an element; so, Naruto could still learn katon jutsu; he just couldn't master the element. So, he wouldn't be able to use the jutsu's that require particular control. Some jutsu's, however, like mokuton jutsu, require an affinity to even use the jutsus," said Hiko. "Now, this library contains every jutsu I've collected over the many years I've lived. You will study here every day. Now, to the armory."

Naruto gasped as he saw the sheer number of weapons in the room. From whips to broadswords, this room had them all. "Where did you get all these weapons?" asked Naruto.

"I forged them myself," answered the man, "and I know how to use every one, so you kids choose." Hinata nodded, and after some searching, came back with a large scythe. Mizuki chose a pair of katanas, and Naruto chose a huge zanbatou. Their choices made, they returned to Hiko. "Good, now put these on," he said. "These are weights, and they will help you get faster." The trio nodded, and put on the weights, nearly staggering when they tried to stand up. "Good, now run five hundred laps around the lake," said Hiko, who was smirking at their glare.

And that is how they continued. Every day they got up and ran five hundred laps around the lake. Then, they studied in the library, where they learned jutsu's and the histories of famous Shinobi in the Bingo book, Naruto teaching Mizuki the shadow clone jutsu so they could quickly gain more knowledge.

(One year later)

After a few hours in the library, they went to weapon practice with Hiko, who made three shadow clones to train each of them individually. Naruto groaned, as he was forced to do one thousand swings with his zanbatou every day before going into sword form practice. Hinata and Mizuki had similar horror stories. After one month, Hiko doubled their weights, and Naruto began learning from the scroll Sarutobi had given him. He spent the next month learning the sealing techniques of his father, whom he found out was the Fourth. At first, he had been horrified, but with Hinata's and Mizuki's help, he had grown used to it. Hiko began teaching Mizuki how to summon her demons chakra, and after a month, Naruto was able to fix her seal with techniques learned from his father's scroll. Naruto began to work on increasing his fox fires power, and by the end of the year, had created the more powerful fox blast technique. Hinata began learning more potent medical techniques, and was able to double her byakugan's range.

After the first year, they were able to begin sparring with their weapons, honing the basic techniques they had been taught. Six months later, Hiko decided it was time for real opponents. "It is time you had a real sparring partners, so I have decided to get you guys additional Sensei's," said Hiko.

"Cool, where are they?" asked Naruto.

"They're dead," said Hiko.

"If they're dead, how can they help us?" asked Naruto.

"I'll tell you," said Hiko. "Have you ever heard of the **Edo Tensei technique**? It's a forbidden technique that re-animates the dead. It is a powerful and evil technique. Normally, I would forbid you from ever thinking about using it. This technique normally requires using human sacrifices to power it. However, because of my demon's power of rebirth, I can use this technique without sacrifices. Once re-animated, the people that are revived cannot be destroyed with normal means. There are only three ways to stop the technique; first, for the summoner to cancel the jutsu; second, the **shiki fuujin** technique; and lastly, a powerful jutsu that completely destroys the body of the summoned person." "Now, **kuchiyose Edo Tensei (reanimation) technique,**" he said, summoning three caskets. The first contained a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Naruto's eyes widened, "F-Father?" After the initial introductions, the Yondaime agreed to train his son, sparring with him with his own zanbatou and beginning to teach him the Rasengan. Mizuki and Hinata had their own dead senseis, and for the next six months, the trio trained harder than ever.

After their second year of training, Hiko took samples of their blood and forged them their own personalized weapons each containg special abilties. Hiko began limiting their visits from their dead senseis to once a month, and began sending them to attack rouge ninja and bandits in the area, earning all three their first kill. Hiko began teaching Naruto all he knew about the Akatsuki and it's members, while Hinata and Mizuki began perfecting some of their original techniques, and Hinata finally mastered long range jyuuken strikes by sending pulses of chakra with every strike. Their jutsu training intensified as they began mastering some of the jutsu they knew. Mizuki gained a summoning contract with the wolves. Hiko told them of the only other Jinchuurki he knew of, one residing in grass village, the other in suna.

Hiko began getting sicker and sicker, and not even Hinata's strongest healing techniques could heal him. She diagnosed him with only six months left. He smiled, and bade them not to cry, saying "I am glad to have lived to teach such fine Shinobi as yourselves. I can die with hope for the future." With the knowledge of his imminent death, he intensified their training, tripling their weights and increasing their sparring times. Their monthly training with their sensei's turned to daily and Naruto was able to master the Rasengan technique and finally managed to master his Taijutsu style. Hinata mastered all the medical jutsu Hiko had to teach and perfected her jyuuken, while Mizuki mastered using her katanas ..

Finally, on the last day of the sixth month, Hiko died. The three twelve year-old Shinobi cried over their Sensei of three years, and buried him near the lake. The three smiled, then their eyes hardened. It was time to begin.


	5. gathering fellow demons pt1

"Naruto, I have something to give you. Hiko gave it to me after his last medical exam," she said, tears falling. "I'm sorry. He told me it was important not to tell you,"she continued, handing him a scroll. 

Naruto stared at it a moment before swallowing and reading. 

_"Naruto, by the time you read this, I will be dead._

_ Don't be angry with Hinata. I swore her to silence. _

_ You're probably wondering how I, of all people, could _

_ have died of something as trivial as sickness. After all,_

_ shouldn't my demon have healed me? You're right. _

_ Normally, he would have; but this time, he couldn't."_

_ "My illness came from the immense amount of demonic chakra _

_ I channeled to do the Edo Tensei Jutsu. In order to use the Jutsu _

_ without sacrifices, I was required to channel extreme amounts of _

_ demonic chakra. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem but _

_ I'm afraid that even demon containers must succumb to age. I was _

_ far to old to be channeling so much demonic chakra when my seal _

_ was faulty. The chakra over loaded my chakra coils, causing my _

_ demonic chakra to slowly poison me. This was the reason I cut back _

_ on your training with your other senseis."_

_ "Although, you may be wondering why I didn't simply stop using the Jutsu. _

_ The reason is simple. I was old. My only goal was make you as strong as _

_ possible so you could face the Akatsuki. When I found how much time _

_ I had left, I had no choice but to step up your training. You and the girls had_

_ become precious to me, and I couldn't have been prouder of your progress. _

_ Good luck."_

"_Your loving Sensei, Hiko."_

Naruto wiped a tear from his eye, then smiled. "Don't worry, Hinata. I'm not angry with you. I understand." Hinata forced a smile. "Now let's get our plans underway." 

---3 days later--- 

Two hooded figures stood on the cliff, overlooking the hidden grass village. 

"Mizuki, can you sense her?" 

Mizuki closed her eyes, and nodded. "Yes, she's located on the west side of the village." 

Nodding, Hinata activated her Byakugan. Her training with Hiko had extended her range to over one thousand yards away. "She's alone," she said, "we should do it now." 

Mizuki nodded, and the two disappeared. 

Ayame was furious. How dare those old bastards on the council deny her promotion. She was fourteen years old, tall for her age, with long green hair and emerald eyes. She was wearing a black vest, carried a long whip at her right side, and a sword sheathed on her left. Although she was extremely skilled with both, she was still a Genin. Her skill outmatched most of the Jounins in the village, and still those assholes refused to promote her. She had been trained from age five by the Kusakage, himself, who sought to use the demon vessel as a weapon for the village. 

When she turned ten, she was given an A-rank mission - to assassinate the leader of a rival faction in the village. When she refused, the Kusakage was furious, and he stuck her as a simple Genin, forced to do lowly D-rank missions. 

She was heading home, ignoring the looks of fear sent to her by the villagers as she passed. When she neared her apartment, she was surprised to see two cloaked figures standing in front of the door, obviously waiting for her. 

The first figure was slightly shorter than she was, with bright blue hair and sapphire eyes. She wore a cloak with two Katanas at her side. The second figure was shorter than the first by several inches. She had lavender hair and white pupil-less eyes. _"A Hyuuga," she thought. _The girl carried a large, black scythe on her back, and smiled when she approached. 

"Can I help you girls?"asked Ayame. 

"We've come here to help you, Vessel of the Orchi," said Mizuki. 

"How do you know about that?"asked Ayame, shifting into a fighting stance. 

"I know, because I, too, am a demon container. I can sense it,"she answered. 

"Interesting, but how can you help me?" asked the girl. 

"We want you to join us." 

"Join you?" 

"Yes," answered Mizuki. "We are creating a group for people like us. Demon containers who are hated by the very village we saved, by containing the beasts." 

"So, do you have a demon as well?" Ayame asked Hinata. 

"No," she answered, "but my best friend does. He contains the Kyuubi." 

"What if I don't want to leave?" asked Ayame. 

"Then we will have our friend come and fix your seal, then leave you alone," answered Mizuki. 

"My seal? What's wrong with my seal?" 

"It is poorly constructed. If it's not fixed, the continued channeling of demonic chakra will eventually kill you," answered Hinata. 

Ayame looked shocked, then quickly composed herself. She thought of the looks of fear and hatred the villagers sent her every day, the bias the Kusakage and the council showed towards her, and decided leaving wouldn't be so bad. 

"I'll join on one condition," she said. "If I can test my strength against another container." 

Mizuki smirked. "Where?" 

"There's a training ground a little ways from here. It should be deserted." 

Smiling, the three Shinobi disappeared. 

"Ready?" asked Ayame. "I won't hold back" 

Mizuki only smiled, and unsheathed her sword. Ayame unsheathed her sword as well, and struck, only to find her blade parried by Mizuki, who sidestepped and tried a slash to the girls face. Ayame blocked, and with her left hand grabbed her whip and snapped it towards Mizuki, wrapping it around her blade and yanking it from her grasp. 

Misuik quickly grabbed her second blade, and atytacked, only to have her blade blocked. For a minute, the two were deadlocked, neither able to gain the advantage. They slashed and parried each other until Ayame overextended herself with a high strike to Mizuki's head, who ducked under the blade and slammed her fist into the girl's stomach Pressing her advantage, she flashed through several seals. "**Doton Doryuu Taiga!" (earth flow river) **A large river of mud appeared under Ayame, causing the girl to sink. 

Quickly slamming through seals, Mizuki finished her combo. "**Katon Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" (great fireball technique) **The huge ball of fire descended on Ayame, who burst into flames. Mizuki stared in shock, as the girls' arms turned into branches. 

Before Mizuki could react, the girl's body exploded, slamming her into a tree. "**Moku Bunshin Daibakuha!" (wood clone great explosion)** said a voice from behind her. Mizuki groaned in pain, as she stood up. 

"Impressive. You're able to use Mokuton Jutsu," said Mizuki, as she dusted herself off. 

"Yes I can. You could call it a gift from my tenant." 

"You're stronger than I expected,"admitted Mizuki. "I'll have to get serious." 

"Thanks," said Ayame, shifting through seals. 

"**Doku Kiri!" (poison mist) **Mizuki held her breath, as a cloud of green mist filled the room 

"**Doku Hari!" (poison needle rain),** finished Ayame. 

Mizuki had to keep from gasping,as hundreds of poisoned Senbon began to descend on her. Flashing through seals, she hurriedly finished her Jutsu. "**Doton Doryuu Heki!" (earth style wall) **A huge wall of mud rose from the ground, blocking the Senbon. 

Ayame was so surprised at seeing her Jutsu stopped, that she didn't see Mizuki finishing another set of seals. "**Doton Doryuudan!" (earth dragon jutsu)** A huge Gragon made of mud slammed the surprised Ayame in the chest, knocking her off her feet. Before she could recover, Mizuki attacked with **Doton Dorou Doumu (earth prison). **The earth surrounding the girl converged, and she was surrounded in a prison of mud. 

"Do you concede?" asked Mizuki, whom, upon seeing her nod, cancelled the Jutsu. 

"You're pretty strong," she said, helping the girl to her feet. Ayame grinned. 

"That was a great match," said Hinta, coming up beside Ayame. 

"I'll get stronger," promised the girl, "but first, where are we heading after we leave this accursed village.' 

"Home," answered Hinata. 

The three girls smiled then vanished. 

** authors note**

**my thanks to those who reviewed.**

**till next time ,kagomefetish**


	6. gathering fellow demons pt 2

- - Somewhere Near Water Country - - 

Naruto Uzumaki paused as he made his way through the trees. He was on his way to Suna when he felt it. _"Someone's using demonic chakra," he thought._ Extending his senses, he focused on where the chakra was coming from. _"There, in the clearing," he thought._

Gazing out into the clearing, he saw them. They were two Ninjas, a male and female, fighting what appeared to be mist hunter-nin. The male was a huge man, around seven feet tall, who wielded a gigantic blade, similar to Naruto's own. The man was swinging the sword with considerable skill, cleaving one of the mist Ninja in two. The girl, fighting beside him, was truly a sight. She had long, raven black hair. She appeared to be around fourteen, and her face, from even Naruto's distance, was stunning. She was jumping in and out of what appeared to be mirrors of ice, while throwing Senbon at two hapless mist Shinobi. She was the one using the demonic chakra. 

_"Hmm, there's only one demon with a hyouton affinity," Naruto thought,_ as he headed into the clearing, ducking as the pieces of the last hunter-nin hit the tree above him. "Greetings, Vessel of the Sanbi." 

- 

Momochi Zabuza was not someone who surprised easily. The Demon of the Mist, and a silent killing expert, he took great pride in the fact that he was prepared for almost anything; which is why he was secretly ashamed that a mere boy could sneak up on him. _"Although, from the way he carries himself and the look in his eyes, this was no mere child. He...he carries himself like a seasoned warrior, and his eyes ...yes, this boy...he's killed before," he thought._

"_Greetings Vessel of the Sanbi. " "How had he known?" Haku thought. "I've hidden that fact from everyone, even Zabuza-San, passing off my abilities as a bloodline limit."_ Not that she thought Zabuza would reject her. The sword carrying missing-nin would have undoubtedly been pleased at having a demon as a weapon. As she assessed the boy before her, only one thought came to mind. _"He's cute."_

"What do you want boy?" asked Zabuza, sheathing his sword. 

"My name is Naruto," he answered. "My friends and I are seeking out fellow demon containers, and offering not only to fix their seals, but to invite them to join us." 

_"Haku's a demon container? Well that explains a lot," thought Zabuza._ Out loud he said, "what do you mean, fix their seals? And when you say fellow containers, does that mean you have one too?" 

"Yes, I, too, contain a demon. As to your other question, the seals used to seal the demons were poor. If your friend continues to use demonic chakra with a faulty seal, she will die." 

"Why do you want Haku to join you?" asked Zabuza. 

"We wanted Haku to join us so she wouldn't have to feel the loneliness that being a container brings you. We'd be willing to offer you a place, as well, Zabuza. After all, the Demon of the Mist should fit in perfectly with our group. "I also believe she would be safer with us, than out here with only you." 

"Safe from what?" asked Zabuza. 

"Have you ever heard of the Akatsuki?" asked Naruto. "They're a group of S-class Ninja, searching 

for demon containers. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them. After all, one of your old comrades from the seven Swordsmen of the Mist is a member, Hoshigaki Kisame." 

"That's very interesting, brat, but what can a kid like you do to help her that I can't?" said Zabuza. "You look like an experienced Shinobi, so I'll make a deal with you. If you can defeat me in combat, Haku and I will join your group. 

"Before we begin, what's your sword's name?" Naruto asked, unsheathing his zanbatou. 

"Kubikiri Houcho," answered Zabuza. "Yours?" 

"Zetsuei,"answered Naruto. 

"Let's begin!" said Zabuza, forming seals. **_Kirigakure no Jutsu! _(Hidden Mist Technique**) A thick mist filled the area and Zabuza disappeared. 

Naruto sniffed before disappearing as well, reappearing near the surprised Zabuza, his sword arching towards his head. Zabuza was barely able to block, as Naruto came again. Steel met steel, as the two swordsmen clashed. 

Naruto shifted his weight, attacking with ferocious strikes that Zabuza could barely block Feinting forward, he slashed through Zabuza's torso. It burst into water. Sensing a strike from behind, he brought Zetsuei up for a block . 

Zabuza jumped back and began making one handed seals. Naruto mimicked him, as he, too, began forming seals. **Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu! (water dragon jutsu) **A large dragon made of water hurled towards Naruto, who finished his jutsu. **Fuuton Kaze Yaiba Kamaitachi! ( wind blade cutting whirlwind)**

Zabuza blanched as a whirl wind of blades sliced his dragon to pieces. Making more mist, he disappeared again. "I have to admit, you're pretty strong," said Zabuza, his presence hidden by the mist, "but you can't win." 

"Confident, but foolish, Zabuza," answered Naruto. "You forgot one thing when you challenged me to this duel. We're not near any water." "As a Jounin, you have enough chakra to do water Jutsu anyway, but the chakra required is tripled. You probably have enough chakra for one more dragon, but after that, all you'll have is a sword, which isn't enough to defeat me." 

Zabuza growled._ "Damn. The brat's right. I don't have the chakra for a fight like this. Looks like he wins." _Out loud he said, "Very well brat. You win 

Haku smiled. Silently relieved, she'd been hoping Naruto would win. Despite being eternally grateful to Zabuza for rescuing her, she'd grown tired of the constant running that being a missing-nin required. The home that Naruto offered sounded so tempting after years on the run. She ran towards the former combatants and checked Zabuza over. Seeing he was fine, she turned to Naruto. "So what now, Naruto?" she asked. 

"Well, I was on my way to Suna to check on a container there, when I sensed you. So, we head there," answered Naruto, sheathing his sword. Nodding, the former mist Ninja vanished. 

- - Three Days Later in Suna - - 

"Where the hell is this demon, brat?" yelled Zabuza, sweating furiously. 

"I don't know," answered Naruto. "For some reason, I can't sense him." 

"Don't worry, Naruto-Kun," said Haku. "Zabuza-San just gets irritable in high heat." 

"We'll just have to look for him manually," Naruto said. 

"How will we know who it is?" 

"Look for someone that everyone else avoids," he answered. 

Two hours later, they still hadn't found him. They were making their way to a training ground when they found them - a boy with red hair and a large gourd on his back, and a pretty girl around Haku's age, with blonde hair and a huge fan on her back. As they approached, they had to dodge as the boy sent sand after them. Naruto blurred and reappeared behind the boy, grabbing his shoulder. 

Temari was shocked. Not only had the strange boy been able to pierce Gaara's defense, but he seemed to shrug off the massive amount of killing intent that Gaara was throwing off. 

Naruto grinned, as he noticed the rings under the red headed boy's eyes. _'That's why I couldn't sense him,' he thought. "His seal is the poorest I've ever seen." "It looks like he hasn't slept well in years. Shukaku's chakra must already be driving him insane.'_

'Hello, Vessel of the Shukaku," he said, focusing some of Kyuubi's chakra. 

At these words, Temari gasped, and an evil grin appeared on Gaara's face. "You! Mother desires your blood," he said. "Killing you will verify my existence." Still grinning, he sent a wave of sand at Naruto, whom blurred and punched him in the stomach. As Gaara doubled over in pain, Naruto sent a crushing kick to his forehead, slamming him to the ground. 

Sand began falling from his face. "_Who is this guy?" thought Temari. "He's even penetrated Gaara's sand armor."_

_"_My name is Naruto Uzumaki," said the boy. "This is Haku and Zabuza. We're here to help you." 

"Help me?" groaned the boy. "How can you help me?" he said, sending another burst of sand at Naruto, whom merely slapped it away. 

"Haku and I are containers like you," he answered. "I'm forming a group for people like us and you're invited to join. But, most importantly, we can fix your seal. Your seal barely contains the power of Shukaku. If we make it stronger, you should be able to sleep." 

Gaara glanced at his sister and considered. She was terrified of him, but despite that, he knew she still cared about him. She hung around him, and didn't completely avoid him, like Kankuro. He always resisted when Shukaku told him to kill her. Secretly not wanting to hurt the only sibling that cared about what happened to him. He then thought of the many assassination attempts on his life, by his own father, no less. He glanced at Temari again, and saw only understanding in her eyes. 

"I'll go with you on one condition," he said, "if you can fix my seal." Naruto nodded, and began sealing, placing his hand over Gaara's seal. Gaara screamed, as chakra overloaded his system. After a minute, the Jutsu finished.. Gaara tried to hear Shukaku's voice, and smiled when he failed. "I'm ready to go," he said. 

The four Shinobi were preparing to leave, when Temari stopped them. "Wait! I'm going with you." Gaara was about to argue, when Naruto stopped him. "Trust me, Gaara. When a woman gets that look in her eye, there's no stopping her. Trust me. I lived with two of them for three years." 

Zabuza laughed, as both Temari and Haku sent out killing intent. Naruto, sensing his imminent demise, vanished, the others following.

* * *

- - One Year Later - - 

Naruto grinned as he neared Cloud Village, thinking over the past year. After fixing Haku's and Ayame's seals, the group spent the year training. They began using Zabuza's old contacts to get missions, taking only the B–rank and above, establishing a reputation of never failing a mission. Naruto began learning Zetsuei's special techniques, and perfected a more powerful Rasengan. He began learning silent killing from Zabuza, whom, when not sparring with Naruto, could be found researching new Jutsu.. 

Haku began learning how to use ice weapons, and began learning medical Jutsu from Hinata. Ayame began experimenting with poison techniques, and learned how to summon shadow snakes from her tenant. She was able to summon the Boss Zangemaru at will. 

Temari began learning more wind Jutsu, and Naruto helped her learn stronger Taijutsu. Gaara, realizing how slow his sand was, began experimenting with Shukaku to make it faster, while learning more sand attacks. Mizuki and Hinata began perfecting their weapon's powers. 

Naruto was currently on an assassination mission, given to him by a one of Zabuza's contacts in Cloud. As he neared the entrance to the village, he crept past the guard, and headed to the west side of the village, where his target was located. He crept over the roofs to his target's home, when he saw it. A group of villagers savagely beating a little girl. They were stabbing her with what appeared to be broken bottles. Two of the men were hitting her with burning torches, causing the girl to scream as she was burned. Demonic chakra was slowly healing her wounds, so a villager grabbed her head and bashed a bottle through her head. Surrounding the attacking villagers were a small group of Ninja, wearing chunin vests, laughing. 

Naruto growled as Kyuubi's chakra exploded from him, encasing the village with killing intent. He grabbed Zetsuei and leapt down, cutting through the villagers with torches. Before the Chunin could react, he had sliced through them. Glaring at the remaining two villagers, he leapt forward, stabbing his fist through both of their hearts. He immediately began casting emergency medical Jutsu on the girl, silently thanking Hinata for teaching him. Seeing she was out of danger, he gathered the girl in his hand and sped at top speed from the village. 

- - One Day Later - - 

Naruto had been running full speed throughout the night, and he forced a smile as he saw his home. Quickly running inside, he yelled for Hinata, then passed out. When he awoke the next morning, he found Hinata by his bed, sobbing uncontrollably. "How's she doing, Hinata-Chan?" he asked. 

"She's stable," answered the girl. "Before she passed out again, she told us her name's Aiko, and she's four years old. Her wounds are healing abnormally fast." 

"She has a demon inside her, probably the Nibi. That cat is the only demon near Lightning Country." 

"The people who did this to her?" asked Hinata. 

"They're dead." 

"Good," she answered, leaving to check on Aiko. 

- - Two Years Later- - 

A fifteen year old Naruto was sitting at his desk, pondering his next move. Aiko curled up in the cot beside him. After healing from her injuries, it took Aiko a month to come near anyone. When she did, it was only around Naruto, whom she saw as her protector, and Hinata, whom she thought of as her healer. She followed them everywhere and refused to sleep without one of them nearby. 

After another month, she had warmed up to the other girls. After an additional two weeks, she began to trust Gaara. It took her an additional three months before she would trust Zabuza, a fact that annoyed the man even now. 

They spent the last two years training and cementing their groups' reputation for successful missions. 

They called themselves the Zetsuei Mercenary Group and never failed even the hardest S-class missions, 

They began teaching Aiko basic Ninja techniques. She learned Henge and Kawarimi, and Naruto taught her the shadow clone technique. 

Aiko began looking at the other girls as her big sisters, and Naruto and Gaara as her big brothers. She refered to Zabuza as "Uncle Zabu," which still cracked Naruto up. 

After the first anniversary of Aiko's joining, the group began hearing rumors about the new Sound Village. Ayame was sent to gather information. After a month, Ayame reported back. "Orchimaru, the leader of Sound Village, is allying himself with Suna to attack Konoha sometime during the Chunnin exam, which is held at Konoha this year." 

This was the topic of Naruto's conundrum. He had no love for Konoha, and he had no desire to ever return, but he owed Sarutobi-Sensei. 

He turned as the door slid open, and Hinata led the girls inside. He smiled as he recalled how that happened. A few months ago, Aiko had trapped him and the girls in a room, refusing to let him out until he admitted his feelings for the girls trapped with him. Instead of being dismembered like he thought,they had kissed him and told him that he was a fool for waiting so long. 

The girls settled beside him, and when he looked up, he saw resolve in their eyes. Reaching his decision, he smiled and leaned into a kiss by Temari. _"Tomorrow, I head to Konoha," he thought._

_authours note_

_ thanks to all those that reviewed._

_it may seem that Gaara was a little weak in this chpter but Naruto's so fast that it was like him facing a much stronger Lee._

_naruto is now fifteen.haku and temari are seventeen, aiko is six , and zabuza is just old._

_the genin exams in my fic is at fourteen , so the timeline right now is at the chunnin exams. And don't worry naruto's not going to become a konoha ninja again. he's going just to help Sarutobi._


	7. Konoha

Over the many years he'd been alive, Sarutobi had few regrets. He loved his job - loved seeing the bright young faces become Ninja every year. He especially loved seeing those same Ninja grow and mature as teachers and Ninja. As a human, he was prone to mistakes, but luckily very few of those mistakes haunted him.

As he sat in his office, taking a break from the large stack of paperwork sitting in front of him, he sensed a presence behind him. He jumped forward, with speed belying his age, and launched several shuriken towards the presence. A figure moved quickly in the shadows and snatched the shuriken out of the air.

"Still as sharp as ever, Sarutobi-Sensei," said a voice from the shadows.

Sarutobi stared in shock at the figure emerging from the shadows. "A-Arashi?" asked the hokage. _"No, it couldn't be. This man was much too tall."_

"Not quite," answered the figure, as he stepped fully into the light, rubbing his whisker marks.

"Naruto?" confirmed the old man, before gathering him in a bone crushing hug. "How are you, Naruto," he asked,"and where's Hinata?"

Smiling, Naruto pointed towards the other figures in the room, whose presence Sarutobi didn't sense in the excitement. She had certainly grown. She was nearly taller than he was, and her lavender hair, that she used to keep short, now hung past her shoulders. As he moved to embrace the girl, he suddenly stopped and stared. In her arms was a little girl, around six years old, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Staring for another moment, he turned towards Naruto. "H-how...w-when...?" stuttered the man.

Hinata giggled, while naruto laughed. "How? I hope you know by now. As for when, sorry to say she's not my daughter. She's my little sister. We've adopted her."

"We?" asked the man.

"Me and the rest of the members of the Zetsuei mercenary group."

_"Zetsuei? That's the group of mercenaries whom have never failed a mission, not even S-class ones," thought the hokage. "So, you've gotten stronger Naruto."_

_"_As glad as I am to see you again, why are you here, Naruto?"

Naruto instantly turned serious. "Have you ever heard of the Sound village?" At Sarutobi's nod, he continued. "It's led by Orchimaru. We have information that Orchimaru plans to attack Konoha sometime during the Chunnin exam, with the help of the Sand village."

Sarutobi stayed silent. When he spoke, his voice was tinged with regret. 'Hinata, please tell my secretary to assemble the elite Jounin." Nodding, the girl left.

Sighing, the old man pulled a picture from his desk. It was one of himself, years before, with three children; a girl with blonde hair, a pouting boy with gray hair, and a young snake-like boy with black hair, obviously a young Orchimaru.

"I remember when I first met them. A perverted boy, with absolutely no talent besides peeping on girls; a Kunochi, who was the smartest in her class, as well as the granddaughter of one of my mentors; and him. He had so much talent, at such a young age. A thirst for knowledge, a genius of geniuses. And all that evil in his heart. I sensed it then, but. I did nothing. He was my prized pupil, the kind that comes only once in generations." "We were at war. We needed his power. I made excuses. Not even when he was found doing forbidden experiments on his fellow Shinobi could I kill him. And now, he is unleashing a flood that might consume this village. What a fool I've been."

It was as he watched him speak that Naruto realized how old the man looked. How weary. He smiled at him. "You don't have to stem this flood alone, Sarutobi-Sensei." Smiling at the man, he continued. "The power of the Zetsuei mercenary group is with you." Laying a comforting hand on the shocked, old hokage's shoulder, he disappeared.

After leaving Sarutobi's office, he immediately searched for Hinata and Aiko. He found them on top of the Hokage monument.

"I've received a message from Mizuki. The others should arrive the day before the exam," he told Hinata, who was holding a sleeping Aiko. "Sensei has promised to keep those old fossils on the council in line. The old bastards will probably try to send the entire Anbu force after us."

Naruto glanced towards Hinata and turned white. Her fists were clenched and her eyes had an angry tick Aiko, who had remained asleep until now, had woken up and heard his tirade. "Old bastards," she quoted, rolling the word over her tongue. Now Naruto was really sweating. For a month now, Aiko had been mimicking every word they said, which led to several beatings for Zabuza when an enraged Hinata heard her using the word, 'fuck' She'd broken both his arms, and after Aiko asked what the word meant, she closed all his chakra points and refused to heal him for a week.

Aiko, perhaps sensing her adopted big brother's demise, saved him by saying, "Uncle Zabu says that word all the time." Hinata began exuding killing intent, and she silently promised to never leave Aiko alone with Zabuza again.

Naruto moved to calm down the fuming Hinata when he suddenly stopped and glared

"Come out!" he said, his hand clutching Zetsuei.

A masked figure appeared. "Naruto Uzumaki, Lord Hokage has asked you to attend a meeting in his office." Naruto glanced at Hinata before vanishing.

Naruto entered a room where the elite Jounin had assembled. "You have your assignments. Dismissed," said the Hokage.

Most of the Jounin disappeared, leaving only Sarutobi and seven Jounin. "There you are, Naruto," said Sarutobi. "These are the Jounin-Senseis of the teams entering the exam; Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Maito Gai, and Hatake Kakashi." He ignored Naruto's snort, and continued. "These are the examiners of the Chunnin exam; Gekko Hayate, Mitarashi Anko, and Morino Ibiki. "These Ninja will be in charge of Konoha's defense. Since we don't know when the enemy will attack, we must remain vigilant."

"Where is the survival exam being held this year?" asked Asuma. "It's the only time that Orchimaru could strike, since all other exams are monitored."

"The forest of death," answered Anko, her eyes glinting with malice at Orchimaru's name.

Naruto snorted. "Do you really think that Orchimaru cares about a few measly Jounin. None of you are any where near Orchimaru's strength. Having an exam monitored will not stop his plans. He'd just kill everyone involved." He turned to Sarutobi-Sensei. "I'll have some of my people monitor the exams. If Orchimaru attacks, they'll be there to stop him."

"Who are you," asked Kakashi, "and what makes you think you can defeat Orchimaru?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, currently S-class missing-nin from Konoha, and leader of Zetsuei."

"How'd a brat like you become an S-rank missing-nin?"asked Anko.

"He's the Kyuubi Vessel. He disappeared six years ago, after kidnapping the Hyuuga heiress," answered Kakashi.

"Naruto did not kidnap Hinata. She left of her own accord," said Sarutobi. "Naruto's the one who warned of us Orchimaru's plans.

"Any way, I want to meet the brats who'll be entering the exam," said Naruto. "I need to know how much of a liability they'll be. Besides, the rest of my group should arrive in two days. When they get here, I'd like to tell them what they'll be babysitting."

"Why would someone like you protect Konoha?" asked Kakashi. "I'd have thought you'd be the one trying to destroy it."

Naruto smirked, "you're right, Kakashi. I'm not here out of any lingering loyalty for this village. I'm only here to help Sensei. If it weren't for him, I'd probably burn this village to the ground myself." He grinned at them, and disappeared.

"Are you sure you can trust him, Hokage-Sami?" asked Ibiki.

"Yes. I would trust Naruto with my life, but I suggest you keep your distance from him and his friends."

"How powerful is this mercenary group?" asked Asuma. "It can't be that powerful if a kid's leading it."

"I don't know how powerful Naruto is, but the group itself is known for never failing, even the toughest S-class missions. You remember what they did in the mist, don't you?" said Kakashi.

"What did they do?" asked Kurenai.

It was Anko who answered her. "They destroyed over half the village, killed over a hundred mist Shinobi including the newly reformed seven swordsmen, and assassinated the Mizukage.

* * *

Somewhere near the edge of Fire Country 

"It's been three years since we've assembled," said a man with red eyes.

"The Jinchuuriki have disappeared," said a female voice. "Stone, Grass, Cloud, and Sand -- they've all lost their containers."

"The Suzaku container is dead," said a man with shark-like gills.

"It is of no matter," said another voice. "Hiko was written out of our plans long ago."

"Are there any clues to the whereabouts of the missing Jinchuuriki?" asked another voice.

"No," said the female voice, "but there are rumors that new mercenary group, Zetsuei, is led by a demon."

"Zetsuei?" asked the shark man. "Isn't that the group that assassinated the Mizukage?"

"Yes," answered the female. "Rumors are that it was Momochi Zabuza that actually killed him."

"Zabuza?" asked the man. "That name brings back memories. Who'd have thought that old bum would get strong enough to finally kill him?" he laughed. "Don't that beat all."

"Speaking of memories," said a male voice, "Orchimaru plans to attack the Leaf village some time during the coming Chunnin exams."

"Why should we care what that weakling does?" asked the shark man.

"Orchimaru has gotten stronger since he left us," said the red eyed man. "Even so, I would estimate that only Hidan and Tobi are weaker than he."

"Enough," said a previously unspoken voice, "Hidan and Kakuzu are to investigate this Zetsuei group.

Diedara. Sasori. There's a rumor of a demon on the outskirts of rain village. Look into it."

"Itachi. Kisame. Check on the Kyuubi container in Konoha. Keep an eye out for Orchimaru." Nodding, the six figures disappeared.

---Two Days Later ---

Naruto groaned as the light hit his eyes. Rolling over, he kissed Hinata, who snuggled into the covers, her arms around Aiko. He pulled on his black vest and sheathed zetsuei. Gazing at Hinata one final time, he disappeared. He headed towards the main entrance to the village and silently laughed at the sight of two sleeping Chunin. He turned towards the surrounding forest where several shadows waited.

"What are your orders Naruto-Sama?" asked one of the shadows.

"Gaara, how many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"One less time than I've called you it," he replied.

"Never mind", Naruto thought. "Anyway, Gaara, you, Zabuza, and Haku are to patrol the forest of death during the second exam. Ayame, you will disguise yourself among the genin and spy on the Sound Genin. I don't believe Orchimaru will strike until the third exam. The Kazekage will undoubtedly attend and with all the nobles and foreign ninja coming to see the finals, security will be more lax. If the Kazekage show up, then Sensei will have to face two kage-level ninja. So, during the third exam, Gaara and I will pose as Sarutobi's guards. Temari and Mizuki will pose as spectators, looking out for enemy shinobi among the crowd. Ayame, you, Hinata, and Haku will be on the rampart, watching for enemy shinobi. When the attack begins, Aiko will be with the academy students. Zabuza, it is your job to protect them." The shadows nodded and disappeared.

---------------------------------------

Aiko smirked mischievously as she snuck from her sister's arms. Heading towards the roof, she sniffed and made her way toward team nine's training ground. Her target was the angry boy with eyes like her sister's. She and Hinata had been taking a walk yesterday near the training grounds when the boy saw Hinata. He proceeded to glare at Hinata, muttering something about fate, and called her a failure child of the main branch who was now a worthless demon whore. Hinata simply led Aiko away.

"Well, no one gets away with being mean to my nee-chan," she thought, as she neared the training area. When she got there, she was annoyed to see several other genin groups and four jounin that she assumed were their Senseis. One of the genin, a boy wearing a bright green suit, was twirling several kunai into the air and catching them seconds before they touched the ground, obviously trying to impress a pink haired girl who was trying to ignore him by fawning over another genin, a brooding boy with black hair and a clan symbol on his back. Aiko was about to turn and "get" the rude boy another time, when the boy in the green suit threw his kunai at her . Quickly forming seals, she replaced herself with a log.

High in a tree branch, she glared at the boy. "You idiot!" she screamed. "Who throws kunai without even seeing who you're throwing them at?"

He began to fervently apologize, spouting about flames of youth. When he began to comment on her youthfulness in dodging his attack, she quickly forgave him.

Sasuke snorted, "Idiot."

Aiko frowned. If there was one thing she hated, it was bullies. "What makes you so great?" she asked, glaring at him. "At least he apologizes after making a mistake." She paused, "Haven't I seen you before?"

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha," smirked the boy.

"Uchiha?... hmm..." she frowned. "Now I remember. You look like that guy in the book Nichan's always reading. The one that killed his entire family, what was his name? Oh yeah, Itachi. It's weird that you guys look so much alike." Seemingly oblivious to the sudden Killing Intent projected at her, she continued. "I guess the Uchiha Clan must've been really pathetic if one guy could kill all of them."

Sasuke lost it, and before either of the on-looking jounin could stop him, he formed the seals for one of his favorite jutsus. **"Katon Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" (great fireball technique)**

Kakashi watched in horror as a giant ball of fire descended on the girl. He shot forward, as fast as he could, hoping to intercept the attack, when a giant blade appeared and sliced the fireball in two. He looked up to see an enraged Naruto.

Naruto growled at Sasuke, while swinging zetsuei forward. "If you're going to attack someone, Uchiha, try me."

Sasuke smirked and activated his sharingan. Running forward, he aimed a kick at Naruto's head. Naruto merely caught his foot, and threw the boy into a tree. Sasuke flipped to recover and renewed his attack, growling, as every punch or kick he tried was deflected. He jumped into the nearest tree and formed a seal. **"Katon Housenka No Jutsu!" (mythical fire phoenix technique) **Small fireballs launched towards Naruto, who dodged. Sasuke smirked and ran behind him. **"Katon Ryuuka No Jutsu!" (dragon fire jutsu)** A large fire dragon converged and engulfed Naruto in flames.

Sasuke smirked, and was unprepared when Naruto appeared behind him, swinging the flat of his blade into the Uchiha's chest, causing the him to fly off his feet and slam into a tree. Naruto turned, and began walking towards his sister.

Sasuke slowly rose and glared at Naruto's back _"How could I, an Uchiha, lose to this guy?"_ He gathered chakra into his hand and shot forward **Chidori. **Naruto blurred and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, slamming the attack into the ground, breaking the boy's wrist. Naruto gathered chakra into his fist and slammed it into Sasuke's throat. rendering him unconscious.

"Are you okay, nichan?" asked Aiko, running towards her adopted brother.

Naruto smiled, and burst into water, causing the jounin to gasp in shock. Another Naruto entered from the trees. "I'm fine," he said, taking her into his arms. Turning towards Kakashi, he glared. "Teach your students better manners. Next time, I'll kill him." He smiled and disappeared with Aiko.

Kiba was ecstatic. He began taunting the unconscious Sasuke. "Kakashi-Sensei, why didn't you stop him from hurting Sasuke?" whined Sakura.

Kakashi frowned. "The fact is, Sakura, I couldn't."

"Why not, Sensei?" asked Sai. "You're an elite jounin. How could that kid defeat you?"

Shikamaru sighed, "That was a Mizu Bunshin that Sasuke was fighting, Sakura."

"So!" she said.

"So, a Mizu Bunshin has only ten percent of the user's strength. So that guy defeated Sasuke easily, with only ten percent of his power."

Sakura looked at Kakashi for conformation, and frowned when he nodded. "Who is that boy?" she asked. "He's our age, but I've never seen him before."

"His name's Naruto, and he's a powerful Nukenin," said Asuma.

Sakura opened her mouth, perhaps to ask what a missing-nin was doing back in his former village, when Kakashi silenced her. "Don't worry about it, Sakura. Right now, just focus on the exam." She frowned , but burst into a smile when sasuke slowly crept to his feet,screaming she ran to smother him .

Kakashi grimaced 'I hope my team survives this exam'

author's note

Hey, sorry for the delay. in this fic sasuke has already trained with kakashi so right now he's as strong as when he fought gaara.

The Sai mentioned in this chapter is the same one that joined

team 7 after he timeskip. he's sasuke's teammate.

I like Anko , so I'm thinking about having her join Zetsuei.

Before, anyone asks she's the only one that I could realistically

have leave the village. if you want a different female character to join Zetsuei, you'll have to give me a good reason to have them leave the village. anyone but sakura is available.

for the character you choose also choose the pairing naruto, gaara, or zabuza.

til next time, kagomefetish


	8. The Chunnin Exams

It was the day of the Chunnin exams. A hundred terrified Genin made their way to the examination room. Ayame paused as she made her way into the building. She watched as Sasuke bullied the two Chunnin at the hidden entrance to room 301. She made her way in, and silently giggled when Sasuke got his ass kicked by Lee. She shadowed the Konoha Genin and made her way into the waiting room, filled with prospective Chunnin. She smiled when a silver haired Genin with white glasses quieted down the Konoha Genin, and frowned when she saw his info cards. _"No Genin whom failed the Chunnin exam seven times could have that kind of information. network," she thought, as she made her way over to him._

"Hey, do you have information on me?"

"What's your name?" asked Kabuto.

"Ayame, Kurosaki."

Nodding, he gathered chakra into a card. "Ayame Kurosaki...says your from the Grass Village. You've completed 36 D-rank, 56 C-rank, and, wow, 5 B-class missions."

The gathered Genin looked shocked. She frowned, and left. _"Hmm. His chakra reserves are extremely high and he knows far too much to be a simple Genin. After all, my mission history from Kusa was strictly classified," she paused, "and besides, he smells like snakes. Hmm... I bet he's a spy." _When Ibiki shouted for the exam to begin, no one noticed her disappearance.

----------------

"He's a spy, I'm sure of it!" Ayame told Naruto. "If he's a spy for Orochimaru, then he's at least Jounin level."

Naruto bowed his head in thought. "All right, Ayame. I want you to shadow his team during the second exam. Find out all you can, and eliminate him, if possible."

Ayame nodded, and after giving him a kiss, she disappeared .

She reappeared near the entrance to the forest of death and mingled with the Genin waiting there. She grinned when Sasuke's teammate, Sai, insulted Anko and received a kunai thrown at him. She kept grinning 'til she spotted the Grass-Nin give Anko back her kunai. When the saw the girl's face, she smiled in recognition, then frowned. Something didn't seem right about her...a hidden feeling.

_"Only one way to find out."_ She walked over to her and smiled. "Hello, Tetsuna."

"Who are you?" asked the girl, her eyes fixated on Sasuke.

Ayame smirked. "Nothing," she said, walking away.

When the survival exam began, she immediately shadowed Kabuto. She stalked him silently, and smirked when she saw him meet the female Grass-Nin. "_No doubt now,"_ she thought, before disappearing.

-------------

Sasuke stared in shock as the Grass-Nin peeled her face off to reveal a man's grinning smile. Sai and Sakura were already unconscious, so he faced the Grass-Nin on his own.

"Pathetic. Surely you can do much better than this, Sasuke-Kun," hissed the man.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. _"Why was he so weak? First, that guy from yesterday, and now this one." 'They both beat me so easily," he thought. "I must get stronger, so I can kill him."_ Giving a scream of frustration, he launched forward, Sharingan activated. "**Chidori!"** he screamed, charging in each hand. He stabbed, missing with the first strike, and connecting with the second, stabbing the man in the heart. He smirked, then gave a horrified gasp as the man turned to mud.

"Pitiful. I'm so disappointed, Sasuke-Kun. Itachi was so much stronger at your age." Orochimaru paused, "Still, you have activated your Sharingan, and you've even learned Kakashi's prized technique, so perhaps, you have potential after all."

Sasuke screamed and wrapped him in wire, performing the Fire Dragon Jutsu on yet another mud clone. Orochimaru appeared from behind a tree.

"If you want to get stronger, come to the Sound Village," Orochimaru said, biting the surprised Uchiha on the neck" Sasuke screamed and fell unconscious. Orochimaru laughed. "If you survive that, Sasuke-Kun, then perhaps you'll be worthy as my new body." He smirked and vanished.

-------------

Mitarashi Anko silently screamed in anger as she searched for Orochimaru. She would kill him and finally get revenge after all these years. She despised him, not because he was a traitor to the village, like some of her colleagues speculated when they thought she wasn't around, but because he'd left her behind. He'd used her, then abandoned her. The things she suffered because of him. The disgust in the villagers' eyes. The distrust of her fellow Jounin, voices whispering "snake slut" and "snake whore" wherever she went. When she saw Orochimaru's retreating figure, an evil smile crossed her lips.

The purple haired Jounin steeled herself and attacked. "**Seneijashu!" ( hidden shadow snake hands)** Several snakes shot from one of her sleeves, wrapped around the surprised Sannin, and hurled him into a tree. Before he could react, Anko formed seals. "**Kunai Kage Bunshin!" **She smiled as a kunai multiplied to a hundred and impacted the Nukenin's chest. She cursed when the man turned to mud, and frantically glanced around for him.

"Well, well. If it isn't Anko-Chan. How have you been, my former student?"

"I'll be fine when you're dead, you bastard!" She shot forward a kunai in each hand and began furiously stabbing, screaming, as every strike was easily dodged. "Damn you!"

She formed seals. "**Katon Karyuu Endan!" (fire dragon jutsu) **The large Fire Dragon impacted the ground near Orochimaru and exploded, sending a shower of dust into the air. Seeing her chance, she increased the ferocity of her attacks, stabbing and slashing as if her kunai were swords.

Orochimaru dodged each strike.

"Foolish," he said, activating a seal. Anko screamed and fell to her knees, clutching the curse mark on her neck, which was glowing purple. "You've grown so much weaker, Anko," said the Sannin. "I'm so disappointed. You haven't used any of the special techniques I taught you." He reached for a kunai. "I'll spare you the embarrassment of such a performance" He moved to strike, but cursed as several senbon struck his arm.

He stared in shock, as the area the senbon hit was covered in ice. _"Is this some kind of bloodline?"_ he thought, melting the ice with chakra. He turned and glared at the figure in front of him. "Who are you?" he hissed.

"My name is Haku," said a female voice. "I'll be your executioner," she said, flashing through seals. **"Hyouton Sensatsu Suishou!" (a thousand needles of death) **A thousand needles of ice descended on the Sannin. He dodged, but before he could react, Haku finished another Jutsu. "**Suiton Suiryuudan! (water dragon jutsu**) A large water dragon impacted the Sannin, who turned into mud.

Haku dodged, as two giant snakes shot out of the forest. Forming a blade of ice, she stabbed it into the throat of an incoming snake. Turning her gaze to the last snake, she quickly sealed. **"Hyouton Haryuu Mouko!" ( piercing tiger fierce dragon)** A dragon-headed ice tiger slammed into the snake, freezing it solid. Before anyone could blink, she formed an ice senbon and threw it at the ice statue, breaking it into pieces.

Orochimaru growled, "Most impressive. I've never seen anyone use Hyouton techniques like you." "It's a pity you have to die." Haku merely grinned and pointed.

Orochimaru turned and nearly screamed in frustration as an additional two figures stood by Anko's unconscious body. One was a tall man, with a giant sword and bandages on his face. The other was a redheaded boy with a huge gourd on his back.

"Orochimaru, by order of our leader, you are to leave. Failure to do so will result in your death," said Gaara.

"Another time," he snarled, vanishing into the ground.

Zabuza gathered the unconscious Anko and the three Shinobi disappeared.

------------

They brought Anko to Naruto, whom was currently playing shogi against the tag team of Hinata and Aiko. Seeing Anko's prone form, Hinata jumped up.

"What happened?" she asked, while performing a diagnostic jutsu.

"She ran into Orochimaru. He did something strange to her, because she has no visible wounds."

Naruto bent down and examined her, frowning when he saw the seal which was still glowing a faint purple.

"It's the seal. I sense faint amounts of corrupted chakra in it." He gathered demonic chakra to his fingers and drew a seal over the mark before overloading it with chakra. Anko's eyes shot open, and she screamed as the mark was slowly burned off, instinctively leaning into Zabuza's arms. She breathed raggedly for a second, before gazing into Naruto's eyes.

"Th-thank you," she murmured, before falling asleep in Zabuza's arms.

"How strong is Orochimaru?" asked Naruto.

"I'm not sure," answered Haku. "I fought him briefly in the forest, but it was mostly against his summoned snakes."

Naruto nodded. "Ayame sent word right before you arrived. Kabuto Yakushi is definitely a Sound spy. Apparently Orochimaru's target was Sasuke Uchiha. He was given a cursed seal and it was activated in an attack by a Sound Genin team."

"What should we do?" asked Haku.

Naruto paused. "There's a one month period before the third exams begin. Gaara, you are to kill Yakushi Kabuto before the third exam begins.

----------

Orochimaru angrily made his way to the tower. He quietly entered and waited for Kabuto's team. When they entered, he grabbed Kabuto by the throat and slammed him into a wall.

"Do you know of any Konoha ninja that use Hyouton techniques, or any that use giant swords?"

Kabuto shook his head. "Find out quickly, oh, and Kabuto..."

"Yes, Orochimaru-Sama."

"...send for our trump card."

Orochimaru gave a ringing laugh before vanishing.

Kabuto let out a breath while his teamates Yoroi, and Misumi

gave audible gasps. Now they'd have to summon..._Them_.

-----------

_Author's Note_

_can anyone guess who the trump card is , hint, It's not an O.C._

_thanks to every one who reviewed._

_Anko will definitely join zetsuei and so far it looks like her pairing_

_will be zabuza. please continue to vote._

_I plan on using Yugao but I need you to vote on her pairing_

_the poll for chapter 7 is still open,_

_please vote for gaara's pairing. remember give me a good reason for anyone to leave their village._

_I have a new story put up called demons desire, it's a naruharem so please check it out. A new chapter should be up within the next few days._

_til next time kagomefetish_


	9. Excerpt and AN

Anko slowly stirred and gave a small, groan of pain when she tried to move her body.

"You haven't healed yet.' said a soft voice "you shouldn't move."

Anko slowly turned her head and was surprised to see an Hyuuga tending her.

"How long have I been out."

"About three days, your body needed to recover from Naruto's removal of that seal."

Anko gasped in shock and ignoring the pain that shot through her body she sat up and rubbed the spot on her neck where the curse seal had been.

" Its really gone."she whispered.

Hinata smiled, but before she could say anything, a loud squeal reverberated throughout the room.

A small blur shot towards anko's bed " Hey ,you're awake now. My name is Aiko and I'm seven years old. whats your name and how did you get hurt? Me and Naruto-nisan tried to take you to the hospital but they said they don't take snake whores. Whats a whore? Ni-san wouldn't tell me." she said this extremely fast, her small body literaly bouncing with joy.

"Aiko leave her alone" said a amused Hinata " She needs to rest.'

Aiko cheerily grinned and ran over to her sister putting her hands up expectantly.

Hinata hauled her up, and settled her against her hip with such tenderness that Anko felt a brief twinge of envy.

"Don't worry I'm fine" she said .

She reached over and caressed Aiko's hair bringing a sunny smile to the girls face.

"My name is Anko" she said running her fingers through the girls hair.

" A whore is a mean word used to describe a woman who is paid to..." Anko glanced up and observed the girls innocent smile"...she's paid to sleep with a man."

" Like I sometimes do with ni-chan?" asked Aiko.

Anko blanched " sorta but...."helpless she turned to Hinata. The move jarred her injuries and she gave a silent scream of pain. Aiko pulled herself from hinata's arms and wriggled down before she hugged anko hard.

A.N This was the only part of chapter nine I had written, so I figured I'd post it. The first chapter of my new fic will be posted in a couple of hours.. till next time.

'


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